I am trying to understand what makes a pitcher good, great or just very
useful in the rotation to a team hoping to compete for the ultimate prize. There
are some guys pitching that I like, some are my favorites, not because of who
they are or what they can do, but just because they impressed me with something
they did, it may have been small, it may have been huge, but at the time to me
it seemed significant enough to make me believe that this guys is okay and
worthwhile having around any ball club.

There are only 4 current pitchers that fall into the category, in no specific
order are Jamie Moyer, Phil Hughes, Chris Carpenter and Randy
Wolf, as I said
none of them jump up and scream Cy Young, but if anyone has never heard of one of
these guys then, I think your missing something.

It seems some believe this to be the year of the pitcher, with the shut outs
starting to grow, the no hitters and the perfect games all having enjoyed a
growth this season already, there could be some truth in the statement. So, I go back to my original thoughts of what
makes a good, great or one of a kind pitcher and how soon can you tell what the
guy will be, by now you probably can see where I am going, Strasburg, you’d be
right.

We had hype around Lincecum back in 2007 and he has appeared to fill almost
all the hype the media placed on him, my personal opinion, his Cy Young
achievement, at least last year (2009), was awarded to the name and hype, he didn’t
deserve it, there were other pitchers more deserving, in my opinion.

Some people say wins and loses, mean nothing, it’s all about the other stuff,
well here are some other stuff, which guy would you want.?…

….since this ‘year of the pitcher’ isn’t going to go away, I think we need
to know a
few of the ailments that will definitely surface towards October. It could be the
player, but with the way people are acting I think it could also be fans that
suffer, we already have things like ADD, yes the real thing ‘AttentionDeficit Disorder’,
or for the sports fans, it’s those who can’t follow real football, soccer to
those who have no desire to grasp a sport that the majority of the world’s
children understand and play from about 2 or 3 years old.

There is a NEW one about to strike the world of baseball it’s the StrasburgHyper Interest Tension Syndrome, yes you can
tell the baseball fan who is suffering, the day after the Washington
Nationals send Stephen Strasburg to mound, these guys will be paying
too many visits to the little boys room, we’re not sure if it’s due to the
excessive food and drink or a need to find relief from the tension.

Sports the lighter side:

The Marlins fired a manager that was actually doing
his job, but feel they found someone more suited and are considering offering the position to the USA’s national soccer
coach, they said, “if he can find 23 guys in the USA that can play
football that aren’t fat f-cks then he must be able to find 8 players and
someone who knows how to pitch in the Marlins club house that will play baseball
for peanuts”.

The Phillies go on the road to Philadelphia and play the Toronto Blue Jays,
this will be the hardest road trip the Phillies have ever made, if they win
it’ll be unfair on the Jays, if they lose everyone will have them back in a
‘anti-hot’ phase.

The ChiSox have a 9 game winning streak and the Rangers have an 11 game
winning streak and the Rangers get to play the Astros for 3, so it’s possible we
could have a 14 game win streak by the time the weekend is over.

The
USA soccer star, I use the term loosely, Landon Donovan, is trying to force his
ex to get back with him by spreading rumors of their pending reconciliation and
blowing fake kisses to her via TV, I mean, dude you look really frickin gay, why
would she want you back.

I can’t tell if you think Strasburg is over-hyped or worthy of the hype! Personally, I think he’s very exciting for baseball in general but mostly for the Nationals, who haven’t had much to cheer about.

Well Peter, I am looking forward to seeing the Nats at Dodger Stadium so that I can checkout Stasburg. In the meantime I am excited about my boys in Blue being back at Blue heaven on Earth! Oh yeah, the Yankees are in town ;-). I hope I get to seee Jane! I missed her last time she was at Dodger Stadium. I kept waiting for her pass by but I guess she was too busy in the dugout restaurant. This time I’ll stalk her 😉 but don’t tell her.
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com

Jane – The jury is still out for me, but as you say it’s good to see the Nats having a sell out stadium….

Emma – Are you sure it isn’t that the Nats equal an easier win than the other NL East teams… LOL You should take something soft and colorful to throw at Jane if you see her at the Yankees – Dodgers game this weekend… but don’t tell her I suggested it… LOL

I’m excited about the USA game tomorrow. I have watched the entire tourney so far and find it fascinating. I am NOT a soccer fan, but I can’t turn off the tv.

What fell on the opposite side of fascinating was my guys failing to get a hit for the SECOND TIME THIS YEAR!!! It is a damn shame to watch a game and wonder if your guys are going to get a hit, much less a win, in the game. This is just ridiculous.

Strasburg is the real deal. I didn’t know how good he was. I thought he was overhyped last year. Apparently, I was quite wrong–as I so often am.

Unfortunately, I have the S.H.I.T.5. and I am proud of it. I could care less about the Nats, but Strasburg makes me giggle when he throws that hook and I love watching him pitch. http://stlcardinals06.mlblogs.com/

There’s been Baseball going on? I’ve been too involved with World Cup and hanging out on my Blogspot page. I’m always doing stuff there if I’m not here. Good luck tomorrow. That’s going to be a great match Sunday!
mike